Agressive Cat Advice

Dear Friends:
I am very stuck!! I have a 2 year old cat that I have had since she
was a kitten. I found her behind an automotive garage when she was
three weeks. I took her to a vet and he allowed me to bottle feed her
for 4 weeks. She is healthy and has all of her vaccinations. She is
spayed and de-clawed. I work an 8-3 job and I am home on the weekends.
It is just the two of us in a 6 room apartment. She has had love and
affection since the moment she stepped into my home. I have consulted
three vets and have even put her on the "kitty antidepressants" several
times.
However, she is extremely aggressive. She bites constantly and draws
blood on almost anyone she comes in contact with. She has been doing
this since she was a kitten and the vet told me she would grow out of
it. The vet told me my only option would probably be to out her to
sleep because know one will adopt her. Do you have any ideas of what I
can do? Who I can contact for help? I don't want to put her to sleep.

wrote in news:1146866143.381054.305590
@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

However, she is extremely aggressive. She bites constantly and draws
blood on almost anyone she comes in contact with. She has been doing
this since she was a kitten and the vet told me she would grow out of
it. The vet told me my only option would probably be to out her to
sleep because know one will adopt her. Do you have any ideas of what I
can do? Who I can contact for help? I don't want to put her to sleep.


I had the same problem with Doc. About a month after I got him he
started biting me, and soon I was being attacked constantly. He was
actually playing, but damn, that hurt! I had the same reservations you
do about giving him up - I thought no one would adopt him if he was a
biter, and I couldn't stand the idea of his being put down.

On the advice of others, I got him a cat to play with. He had someone to
bite, and he learned how hard was too hard to bite when the other cat bit
him back. They saved all their bites for each other, and came to me for
cuddles.

He's really just trying to play, you know - it's not his fault that your
fur is so sparse and you get hurt.


Chak

--
There is something wonderful in seeing a wrong-headed majority assailed
by truth.
--John Kenneth Galbraith

wrote:

I am very stuck!! I have a 2 year old cat that I have had since she
was a kitten. I found her behind an automotive garage when she was
three weeks. I took her to a vet and he allowed me to bottle feed her
for 4 weeks. She is healthy and has all of her vaccinations. She is
spayed and de-clawed. I work an 8-3 job and I am home on the weekends.
It is just the two of us in a 6 room apartment. She has had love and
affection since the moment she stepped into my home. I have consulted
three vets and have even put her on the "kitty antidepressants" several
times.

However, she is extremely aggressive. She bites constantly and draws
blood on almost anyone she comes in contact with. She has been doing
this since she was a kitten and the vet told me she would grow out of
it.

It's likely she behaves like this because she is declawed. Cats without
claws often feel defenseless, and they may try to compensate by biting.
They can also develop other behavioral problems such as aggression. She
might be in chronic pain, even though the surgery was 2 years ago. This
would certainly put her in a bad mood.

I'm sorry I don't have a suggestion of what you can do to improve the
situation. Declawing is a cruel thing to do to a cat, and this kind of
problem is frequently the result.

Joyce

wrote in message
oups.com...
Dear Friends:
I am very stuck!! I have a 2 year old cat that I have had since she
was a kitten. I found her behind an automotive garage when she was
three weeks. I took her to a vet and he allowed me to bottle feed her
for 4 weeks. She is healthy and has all of her vaccinations. She is
spayed and de-clawed. I work an 8-3 job and I am home on the weekends.
It is just the two of us in a 6 room apartment. She has had love and
affection since the moment she stepped into my home. I have consulted
three vets and have even put her on the "kitty antidepressants" several
times.
However, she is extremely aggressive. She bites constantly and draws
blood on almost anyone she comes in contact with. She has been doing
this since she was a kitten and the vet told me she would grow out of
it. The vet told me my only option would probably be to out her to
sleep because know one will adopt her. Do you have any ideas of what I
can do? Who I can contact for help? I don't want to put her to sleep.

That's unfortunate Jen.

Our Miss Cleo is about three now and has a very similar personality. If
you're doing something she doesn't like (even petting), she WILL bite you.
This has gotten better over time, partly because we've learned to anticipate
her moves and she has improved. We thought we might have to give her up in
the beginning because she was terrorizing Smokey. Cleo is VERY territorial.

This has manifested itself again lately, as we have found her peeing in
inappropriate places. She seems to be doing it in out of the way places
(basement) where the other cats have slept. We've cleaned up the messes and
have been giving her more attention. This seems to have resolved the issue
for now, but I'm sure we haven't seen the end of her kitty behaving badly
behavior.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Dear Friends:
I am very stuck!! I have a 2 year old cat that I have had since she
was a kitten. I found her behind an automotive garage when she was
three weeks. I took her to a vet and he allowed me to bottle feed her
for 4 weeks. She is healthy and has all of her vaccinations. She is
spayed and de-clawed. I work an 8-3 job and I am home on the weekends.
It is just the two of us in a 6 room apartment. She has had love and
affection since the moment she stepped into my home. I have consulted
three vets and have even put her on the "kitty antidepressants" several
times.
However, she is extremely aggressive. She bites constantly and draws
blood on almost anyone she comes in contact with. She has been doing
this since she was a kitten and the vet told me she would grow out of
it. The vet told me my only option would probably be to out her to
sleep because know one will adopt her. Do you have any ideas of what I
can do? Who I can contact for help? I don't want to put her to sleep.


Unfortunately, you had your cat declawed. Biting, aggression, and
inappropriate urination are all very common in declawed cats. My guess is
that your vet never bothered to educate you on what this procedure involves
(that is, pain and amputation), and that is tragic. Please take the time to
read this web site to see what declawing involves (and make the decision
*never* to put another cat through this procedure): www.stopdeclaw.com.
Since there is no way to undo what has already been done, now you need to
take action to try to help the situation (and I would change vets and never
go back to any vet who would suggest "putting a cat down" under these
circumstances).

First, get your cat to another vet and have her paws X-Rayed to make sure
there are no bone chips, regrowth, etc. It could be that the declaw has left
her with chronic pain (which is not uncommon). I have a friend who has a cat
that suffers with chronic pain, and she has been on a low dose of Medicam,
administered every other day. This has been remarkably successful - he is
like another cat. It is a well known fact that many amputees feel phantom
pain where they suffer excruciating pain even though the limb is gone.
Something similar could be occurring here.

Next, please let us know what "kitty antidepressants" you have used (and
please include a complete list of everything you have tried). Not all of
them work equally well. Some are very effective when combined with pain
medications, but there is considerable variation among the available meds.
What works for one cat may not work for another, so you may have to try
different options.

Get several Feliway plug-in diffusers. Feliway is used for behavior
modification and can be very useful in reducing stress. It is available in
plug-in diffusers (with refills available) and as a spray. I suggest using
the plug-ins so it can be working all the time. The spray version is
excellent for an occasional use, such as spraying the carrier about 20
minutes before you take your cat to the vet, but the plug-in diffuser is
better for long-term use because it releases premeasured doses. Refills can
be purchased for the dispenser. One bottle lasts a little more than a month.
Here is a link to a study by Ohio State University:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1129074611.htm

If these steps do not help, you may want to look into the Tufts University
Petfax Program (through their School of Veterinary Medicine). This is a
consulting service for pet behavioral problems. My sister used the service
at one time and had excellent results. I think the original consultation fee
is $206.00, but it includes 3 follow-ups. There is a report to fill out
first, and it is very important to include *all details*. Here are two
links --

Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine Petfax Program:

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/petfax/

About the Petfax Program:

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/petfax/about.html

I hope this helps. Please keep us updated.

MaryL

Cheryl Perkins wrote:
Besides the detailed veterinary advice, think about training. I know, cats
aren't noted for their quick response to training attempts, but putting
her down and walking away from her every time she bites or tries to bite,
and rewarding her with a treat when she sits quietly without biting might
help.

I've used this method for Caliban, and he has almost stopped biting. All
he does now is snatch at me sometimes, but he doesn't bite down like he
used to. I also managed to teach him not to use his claws when he bats
at me. Some people say you shouldn't play with cats with your hands, but
I've found that they learn not to scratch if you show them clearly that
it hurts, i.e. squeal loudly every time a claw hits you and stop playing
immediately. Caliban only uses 'soft paws' now when we play.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

"Marina" wrote in message
...
Cheryl Perkins wrote:
Besides the detailed veterinary advice, think about training. I know,
cats aren't noted for their quick response to training attempts, but
putting her down and walking away from her every time she bites or tries
to bite, and rewarding her with a treat when she sits quietly without
biting might help.

I've used this method for Caliban, and he has almost stopped biting. All
he does now is snatch at me sometimes, but he doesn't bite down like he
used to. I also managed to teach him not to use his claws when he bats at
me. Some people say you shouldn't play with cats with your hands, but I've
found that they learn not to scratch if you show them clearly that it
hurts, i.e. squeal loudly every time a claw hits you and stop playing
immediately. Caliban only uses 'soft paws' now when we play.

Even Smokey will snap at me if I play tickle the tummy, but she knows it's
just a game. She just 'gums' me when we're playing the tummy game. Cleo on
the other hand will throw herself down in front of me and roll over for
tummy tubs and the bite for no reason. She does this rarely now, but we've
still learned to not overdo the tummy rub, even if invited to do so.

She bites because of the amputations you performed on her,
you dumb ****.

ps: we're not your friends. Cat declawers are scum.

223rem wrote:
She bites because of the amputations you performed on her,
you dumb c*nt.

It makes me wonder if the original post was a troll, the person hasn't
posted here or anywhere else before or since.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk